What to use as a substitute for veal

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markjass
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What to use as a substitute for veal

Post by markjass » Sat Nov 29, 2014 00:47

I want to make some oxford sausages. These are fresh sausages. 50/50 pork and veal. with herbs and lemon zest. They are unusual as traditional British sausages don't contain veal.

I live in Christchurch (New Zealand) which is in the South Island. It is very difficult to get hold of veal. This is very surprising considering the amount of cattle here. I have spoken with all of the good butchers and to butchers in some of the local supermarkets in town. They have all said it is very difficult to get hold of and very expensive. There is no market for it. I can get it from a North Island stockist, but I would have to freight it down.

So the question is if I use beef should I up the % of pork. If so by how much?

Mark
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DiggingDogFarm
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Post by DiggingDogFarm » Sat Nov 29, 2014 01:54

In my opinion beef wouldn't be a good sub for veal in any quantity.

Some folks use turkey or chicken thighs.



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redzed
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Post by redzed » Sat Nov 29, 2014 07:06

Mark, veal is veal. Tomato soup is tomato soup. I know that people substitute pork tenderloin, turkey breast, chicken, and rabitt for veal in dishes like scallopini etc., but it ain't veal.
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Post by markjass » Sat Nov 29, 2014 08:47

Yes, I know Chris. It is just that I cannot get hold of it. Which is frustrating. I wanted to go for the texture and an approximation of the flavour.I have been doing some more internet searching and have found that because of peoples ethical dilemmas about veal some butchers are using lamb instead (in the UK). From my reading there are two types of veal available grass fed and those that reared inside. In NZ the bobby calves are reared outside. I think most of the veal is exported. The only time I have seen it in a supermarket it was frozen. The labeling was written in French. On top of part of it was a sticker saying that it was from a canceled export order.

In my research I found a recipe dating back to the 18th century. This contain hog, fatted calf (our ancestors were not p.c.) and and suet. This next one from: Mrs. Beeton. The Book of Household Management (no copyright on this).

837. INGREDIENTS.- 1 lb. of pork, fat and lean, without skin or gristle; 1 lb. of lean veal, 1 lb. of beef suet , 1/ 2 lb. of bread crumbs, the rind of 1/ 2 lemon, 1 small nutmeg, 6 sage -leaves, 1 teaspoonful of pepper, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt, 1/ 2 teaspoonful of savory, 1/ 2 teaspoonful of marjoram.

I suspect that the pork was not lean. Most of the modern recipes have cut down or omit the suet. I was going to use a mixture of pork shoulder and belly to up the fat content. I will not use suet as it is not that easy to get hold of (This is NZ)

Some of the recipes stuff the sausage in 'pork gut' others roll it in bread crumbs and fry it. A number of sites suggest the following sauce, which sounds iristable

Oxford Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 pint / 300ml Port
4 tbsp redcurrant jelly
the juice of 1 orange
the juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp Oxford Marmalade (Frank Cooper`s ideally but any rich marmalade will do)
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp grated orange rind
1 tsp cooked shallots
1 tsp mustard
cayenne pepper (to taste)
ground ginger (to taste)

(from http://www.wartimehousewife.com/2010/07 ... rs-part-1/)

Now some oxford sausages, with oxford sauce (or cumberland sauce), some crusty bread to mop up and if it is in the evening a nice beer would be lovely. Anyway enough lusting and procrastinating (would show you how, but it can wait) back to the essay.

Mark
Do no harm. Margerine is the biggest food crime
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Post by markjass » Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:51

I will make my version of an oxford sausage within the next week or so. As an extension of this sausage. I will try re-produce Mrs Beaton's Oxford sausages; suet and all.

I have found a bread recipe from 1560. It uses brewers yeast, find a heritage breed of pig, and veal. I will also have to work out what kind of sauce if any it was served with. This project will plod along in the background and so I may not report back on it for a while.

On bread history:

1822
In London standard weights for loaves were abolished. Bakers had to weigh each loaf in the customer's presence.

1826
Wholemeal bread, eaten by the military, was recommended as being healthier than the white bread eaten by the aristocracy.
Do no harm. Margerine is the biggest food crime
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Post by Shuswap » Sat Nov 29, 2014 16:03

Mark that is what happens when you go back to school - takes your mind to interesting places.
Is it archeology or anthropology those essays are for?
Phil
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